FLY ME TO THE MOON — THAT’S A REAL LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE

NASA is seeking companies to transport cargo, science equipment and other supplies to its lunar spaceship, called Gateway, ready for astronauts to land on the moon once again by 2024.

There can be no cooler logistics job than this.

“We are asking industry to propose their best solutions for delivering cargo and enabling our deep space supply chain,” said Mark Wiese, NASA’s Gateway logistics element manager at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

There is at least one British company which could provide NASA with a solution. Reaction Engines, based at Culham Science Centre, is developing the technologies needed for hypersonic propulsion with its Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE).

SABRE-class engines will enable aircraft to fly more than five times the speed of sound and allow space launch vehicles to be built that will radically improve the affordability and responsiveness of access to space.

But whether delivering goods to a lunar spaceship or a warehouse in Slough, the logistics sector has grown phenomenally thanks in no small part to the rise in online shopping and the frantic stockpiling that took place before the first expected Brexit in March.

According to figures released by the Freight Transport Association, the UK’s logistics sector reported a turnover of £924.5 billion in 2018.

But along with the opportunities come some major challenges.

According to Chris Yarsley, Policy Manager at the Freight Transport Association (FTA), responsible for the Midlands and South West of England, many of the transition systems set up ahead of the first Brexit date, March 29, are now running out of time and need to be updated.

“A huge amount of work has gone on behind the scenes, but we are concerned it’s not enough and we continue to work daily with the government to make sure that the supply chains continue without a break.”

Another issue for the logistics sector is the government’s ambition to set up clean air zones. In 2020, the government plans to introduce clean air zones in Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton. These are needed to improve air quality by discouraging the use of older, more polluting vehicles.

Clean air zones were expected to be set up in more cities, including Bristol and Coventry but have been dropped for the moment due to the expense.

These, along with schemes for many other cities, will be revisited later.

The FTA is campaigning for better coordination between local schemes to avoid a patchwork of programmes across the country operating to different standards and administrative systems.

There are 192,525 logistics companies in the UK, of which nearly all are small or medium-sized enterprises, and collectively they employ more than 2.7 million people.

The UK logistics market

The UK logistics industry performs a vital role in the UK economy, moving goods to and from hubs and ports, and supporting industries such as construction, manufacturing and services. The wider logistics sector contributes £124 billion to the UK economy.

Source. Freight Transport Association Logistics Report 2019